Wings of Ink
by TheLightOfCookieWarrior
Summary: Written by: TheTwilightWarrior and LightOfLaynaru.  Follow your heart, and spread your wings...
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya! Twilight here, and yes. I like ponies. That's right; the half-cat girl likes to watch ponies. Anyways, this is a mostly OC cast, but the actually ponies will be befriending them... Eh... I suppose I start now?**

The lightest sounds of a feather pen scrawling words on paper sounded throughout the small room, ink stains spread over the shag carpet and a sigh sounded as another piece of paper was tossed into the waste basket. A bright green unicorn was seated at a desk, shaking her light brown, blue-streaked mane and dipping the pen back into the dark substance, racking her brain for something of a decent header. She'd been at this for hours! The basket was now over flowing with scraps, crudely written scribbles lining their once white surface.

The unicorn slammed her head into the desk, toppling over the ink and spilling over the already stained desk. She suppressed a groan. She'd spilled ink at least eight times that day, slamming her head into this desk as she beat herself for a writing curve. She glanced at the many newspapers lining the walls, the excellent headers such as: "Running Leaves and Clopping Hooves." And "Life in the Cloudsdale." And "Equestria's Best."

All these titles, wonderfully written peices, all perfect and put down by some of the best writing ponies in the land. She had to wonder how she'd ended up here, in this place of all places. The top newspaper company in Canterlot, where ponies of only the HIGHEST talent were accepted, and here she was. Little InkHeart, barely old enough to be in her own home and already on her third real paper.

She been told she was good, but compliments only frightened her. They made her afraid that she was going to be a disappointment the next time, and fear did only one thing to her: Gave her the worst possible writer-block she could have. She was only a colt! Not a Philly, a colt, so old that she lived alone yet so young that she couldn't even come up with a stupid little header!

As she wallowed in her shameful pit of self-pity, the faintest knock sounded at the door, causing her to jerk her head up and stare fear-stricken at the puddle of ink in front of her. That would be her boss, and he only knocked for respect, he didn't take 'Just one minutes'. The handle glowed and the door creaked open, revealing rather slim stallion. His hair was, as always, frazzled and unkempt, although he kept a certain regal air about him...

His glasses caught the candle light as he stared at the pony before him. Her pelt was stain along with her mane; her eyes were filled with self-loathing as she bowed her head and trying to cling to the little dignity she had left. "Mr. WordPress." She addressed her superior, knowing that he was probably looking at the overflowing basket in the corner and counting up the cost of spilled ink and paper.

He sighed and shook his head. "And I suppose that THIS, InkHeart," he motioned to the rampaged room, "means that your paper isn't done?" He asked, trying to keep his own self control as he gathered up the remaining supplies. He was quickly joined by the green unicorn, as she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.

Finally deciding on the correct choice of words, she opened her mouth, only to be cut off by the very pony who asked the question. "No, no..." He paused, levitating the last bit of paper onto a shelf; high above anywhere else ink could spill. "Writers-block is common... Most new employs get it from all the stress..." He bit his lip and raised his brow. "You show talent, so I'll let this go..."

InkHeart let out a sigh of relief. "... On one condition." She mentally rolled her eyes, remembering how her boss loved to toy with emotions. She'd heard that WordPress did this in the justice of the pen, as he said. He liked to see how people reacted to different things for his own observatory gain. He cleared his throat and placed a hoof on his chest as though he was making some sort of royal interjection. "You will be exchanged into our Ponyville division. The town is much quieter and the people won't flock you so much, even if they now you write for the paper."

This brought both disappointment and excitement. The idea of leaving the higher up area of Canterlot for the rule town of Ponyville, mostly inhabited by earth and Pegasus ponies, made her shutter. She'd never been outside of Canterlot, not once in her life, although she'd heard of a 'beautiful country-side' had intrigued her... But that last bit! Nopony would bother her about the paper? In Canterlot, when one worked for the paper, they were instructed to bring a disguise for when they left. That had left InkHeart dumbstruck and she hadn't even bothered with it, although as soon as she left work she'd been trampled with ponies asking for features! She'd long since bought a cloak and snuck out the back.

"The manager of the shop has agreed to room you for free. Her name is WinterGust and she's always the sweetheart." He shoved her saddlebags in her hooves and began ushering her out. "The trek to Ponyville is three days east. I wish you the best of luck, InkHeart, and hope you get a good lesson out of going there." InkHeart soon found herself on her rump outside the newspaper shop, realizing that her boss must've put the cloak over her due to the lack of trampling.

She sighed and debated her next move. She always packed heavy, even when going to work, simply because she was prone to writing kicks and wouldn't come out of a room for _three days._ She smiled to herself, trying to question what she could be missing and what the catch to her fortune was. She was never so prepared for anything in her life! Not even when she planned things! There had to be something and- Oh to the heavens' with it! She wasn't going to question it, she had learned long ago that risk where worth it. How had she learned? The day she'd risked her pride crawling on her knees to the news shop with a fictional article she'd written, begging for a job.

You can guess where that ended up.

She trotted off, saying goodbye would be too depressing, and she would just send letters out to those she knew, letting them know she was well and in Ponyville. She clomped to the outskirts of the city, taking one last look and turning to the dense forest that now lay in her path. She swallowed hard and rolled her shoulders, trying to push the doubt out of her heart. Ink_Heart._ It was in her name, she was meant to do this, she was meant to use heart. It's what she did.

She was a writer.

She wrote with her heart and tried to live well.

She was on her way to a job in a rule town for the better of her passion of writing.

She was InkHeart.

**Ehhh… Uhh… Something… LightOfLaynaru will explain our plan next chapter, please review!**

**~TheTwilightWarrior**


	2. Chapter 2

_**It's LightOfLanayru here, and yes, I too like the ponies! So...Here's my Chapter!**_

It was around ten o'clock when she sat down in front of her piano. She looked at the sheet music that she had before her. They were songs that she was learning how to play. She smiled as she flipped though the pages for a moment, then closed it. On the front of the book she had placed a blank page of sheet music. She gently played a few notes and then picked up a pencil and drew the small dots on the lines that matched up with the notes that she played.

She held down the peddle on the piano so that it would give the notes a echoed effect. She continued to play and write down the notes as she thought about her dream...Her dream to become a pianist some day, and she hoped that if she practiced enough, she would be.

She looked up at the clock to see that it was almost midnight, but that didn't really matter to her, she was a little bit of a night owl...

She thought about how great it would be to play the piano infront of an audiance, But how could she if she only had two songs written?...She had been playing the piano for quite some time now...She played the piano every single day.

She sighed as she pushed a strand of blue hair out of eyes. She was going to write this song tonight. She took a deep breath and once again begain to play the piano.  
>This time the music seemed to flow though her. She spread her wings as she played the song, This time it was different...She could feel the music. Then she remembered.<p>

_"Oh, I have to practice that song on the piano, the orchasta is three days from now."_She said as she opened up the small book.  
>She flipped though the sheet music and stopped on the page of music that she had to practice. She would have to write her song later. She stared at the notes for a moment and then began playing.<p>

She praticed for awhile and then looked back up at the clock.  
><em>"Three...AM...In the morning...Must...Sleep...Must...Practice..."<em> She said as she nearly fell over on the piano. The pegasus stood up and walked over to a nearby window.  
><em>"I hope I can remeber that song..." <em>She said as she dozed off.

The sun rose and the bright light woke her up.  
>The purple pegasus yawned as she looked out the window at the clouds.<br>She loved her home in Clouds Dale, she loved the freedom of flying just as much as she loved music.

The orchasta would be in Ponyville, she was so excited that she would be able to play the piano there. In a real orachasta! She looked over at her piano. She wouldn't be able to take it with her obviously, but the leader of the orchastra said that one would be provided.

She took a deep breath, her jouney to pony was about to begin.  
>She packed up her saddle bag with food, water, and her hair bows...She was good to go.<br>The journey would be a day and a half south by flight.

She walked outside to the edge of Clouds Dale and looked over the edge. It was a long way down and a long way towards PonyVille. She smiled as she backed away from the ledge and got a running start and as she lept from the clouds she spread her wings and soared though the air.  
>She looked back at Clouds Dale one more time, and then looked at the path again. Her wings beat in a rhythm as she flew toward the new town.<p>

_Her name was Melody Wing.  
>The Melody of the music was a part of her.<br>It was her dream...It was her reality._

_**TA-DA!...Ahem...And so ends my chappy! If you liked it please review! :)  
>~LightOfLanayru<strong>_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hiya! Hehe, I'm sorry for the errors, I'm going to try very hard not to now. So thank you very much all those who reviewed!**

InkHeart let out a long, distressed, pitifully mangled groan. She was bordering on delusional as she limped through the forest on a now twisted hoof. She was mumbling random curses under her breath and was thinking only one thing: _Stupid, stupid, stupid. _She'd been such an idiot; she had packed for _two _days in her frenzy to get to work on time, and was now pushing nine hours without food or water. Her vision was getting blurry; although she was SURE she was only about an hour out of Ponyville.

Her brown mane was frazzled and sticking in every which way, twigs from those annoying bushes that seemed to be placed directly in her path littered the jumbled mass of fur. Her green pelt was covered in dirt and she was starting to feel like just collapsing into a heap and praying that somepony found her. Ink_Heart, _she kept repeating it to herself, trying to renew the strength she'd found when she had first left Canterlot.

Although, she was starting to feel like her heart was gone and she was simply ink. As if she was the stain in forest, the thing that wasn't supposed to be there, the thing that should've come up with a better header so that she wasn't on this stupid hike in the first place! She panted, realizing she'd come to a halt in her mental rant and was wasting precious time.

She knew that the worst-case scenario was really just her fainting, although she was certainly starting to feel like she would end up going insane in the forsaken, tree laden place. She jerked her head back, a thick bang that covered her eyes swished with the sudden movement. She levitated the saddle-pack open and stared in utter desperation at the empty bag that stared back at her, mocking her.

A sudden wave of fury crashed into her and she tore off that mocking pack, throwing it to the ground beside her and stamping on it. She stood there after her outburst, her eyes widening as she realized she was actually losing her mind. It was a rather drastic thought, but a lack of food could make her _feel _insane, therefore she took off like a rocket. She headed straight towards her destination, her hooves beating the overgrown foliage, leaving a trail of miniature destruction behind her.

She panted heavily as she screeched to a stop. A lone, blessing of a sign stood to the side of a slowly clearing road. It read; _Ponyville, one mile ahead. _Underneath the written words was a small, metal basket stuffed with old looking maps. InkHeart stared dumbly at the sign, her jaw hanging open and her one visible eye wide as a saucer. She shakily reached up and bit one of the maps, forgetting she could've just levitated it in the shock of her find. She turned to stuff it in her saddlebags, only to find that they were gone. The memory of her rampage came back as she blushed to herself, deciding better to just carry it with magic.

She clomped along, finding that with every step, her weariness caught up to her and she felt a wave was dizziness pass over her. She'd been walking for ten minutes, it took her fifteen to walk a mile, only five more minutes and she could find the news stand and collapsed on the floor begging for food. She stopped for a moment, realizing that she'd forgotten to plan this whole ordeal. She forced herself to keep waling and tried to find her senses.

All she'd been thinking about was getting out of this forest. She didn't know where she was going, didn't know where she was living, and didn't know what she was doing! WordPress had said she'd be going to stay with the manager of the news-stand, what did he call her? WinterBust, WinterFrost? WinterGust! That was it…. WordPress had said she was a sweetheart and that probably meant she wouldn't be to judgmental if a lost pony came to her begging for something to fill the hole in her stomach, right?

InkHeart levitated the map in front of her, carefully going over every single route. She found "New-stand" but another doubt set in, this map could be ancient! The town on that paper could be something of history to the town now, who knows how long that sign had been there? It was rusted enough to be around thirty years old, it even fit the style for that era! And who in their right mind would come a mile out, just to change the maps in a marker sign?

She heard the chitter-chatter of ponies as she rounded a bend in the path, she had reached her destination. She wanted to scream "FINALLY!" And run through the town, throwing up her hooves and dancing like an idiot, but restrained herself for the greater-good. She strolled into the town, feeling very out of place and a bit confused.

She found herself shrinking back as the entire town seemed to go quiet. All eyes were on the green mare, with wild hair covering one eye, lined with twigs and blue streaks passed by them. Apparently, these ponies were not at all used to tattered unicorns showing up at the head of their town, looking as though they'd just galloped through a forest for three days. Oh, wait… HOW ON EARTH COULD THEY BE? InkHeart felt her knees shake as she tried to ignore the odd stares, hushed whispering, and very angry voice in her head.

She glanced back at her map, suddenly wishing that it this was one of the old cartoons she used to watch, and if she just looked up from the map she'd find the news-stand waiting for her… and… She slowly peeked over the map, and her jaw dropped as she tried not to fall over. She was standing directly in front of the stand, gawking at the sign that read "News" In big bold letters.

She felt her heart hammer in her chest as she slowly opened the door. Her eyes at first wandered about the room, staring in awe at the walls lined with papers and random other news related things. Then, she found a very light-blue pony sitting at her desk, a gray mane swishing in around her horn as she scrawled something on a scrap of paper. She hesitated and slowly looked up, catching sight of the beaten mare in the door way. InkHeart found that she was suddenly very interested in the flooring pattern as she approached the desk.

"Um… Miss WinterGust?" She said, slowly raising her head to meet the other mare's eyes. WinterGust, if this _was_ WinterGust, was looking down on her, giving her the oddest look of empathy. The mare nodded her head and smiled lightly. "That's me." She stated, furrowing her brow and still giving a sympathetic smile. "Had some trouble getting here, huh?"

InkHeart scoffed and shook her twig-covered head, testing her slightly twisted hoof with a shuffle. It amazed her that she'd been able to run on it… But her mind had gone completely blank in that moment. "You have no idea."

**Well, there it is! I don't know if this is short… It's over one thousand words, but most good stories here are like, three thousand a chapter! So, sorry if it's short, and thanks for/please review(ing)!**

**~TheTwilightWarrior**


	4. Chapter 4

_**It's LightOfLanayru here and...Yay! I'm back for another chappy!**_

Melody Wing had been traveling now for about two days...She got lost the first day because of a thick fog, but she managed to get back on track the second day.  
>Sometimes she would alternate between flying and walking on her journey so she wouldn't get too tired.<p>

She looked at the forest around her as she traveled on foot. The first day of her journey, she enjoyed...The second...Not so much. She was already supposed to be at Pony Ville, but the map didn't help her in the fog the first day.

She flew up into the air and looked around for Pony Ville.  
><em>"Where in Equestria could that place be?" <em>She said as she lowered her head.  
><em>"At this rate I'll never get there on time..."<em> She said as she began flying south.

She took the map out of her saddle bag and looked over it.  
><em>"I think I need to go south-east."<em> She said as pulled out a compass. she turned towards the east and continued flying.

She flew for about an hour and then landed on the ground.  
>She fixed the green bows in her blue mane and continued to walk.<p>

As she looked up at the sky she could tell that it was about two in the evening.  
><em>"I'm sure Pony Ville is close by..."<em> She said trying to be hopeful.  
>She trotted through the small forest.<p>

After awhile of walking, she found a sign that was the shape of an arrow and above it read Pony Ville.  
><em>"Yes!"<em> She exclaimed as she stood on her back feet for a moment.  
><em>"That means that it must be close!"<em> She said as she went the direction that the arrow pointed.

She was excited about the Orchestra. She was less that twenty-four hours away from it!  
>She was happily walking when all of the sudden she tripped on something.<br>_"What the?"_ She said then hit the ground.  
>She looked behind her...She had tripped on a rock...<br>_"Huh?"_ She said as she walked over to it.  
>She picked up the rock.<br>_"Hmmm...I'll name you Rocky!"_ She said as she put the rock in her saddle bag and flew into the air.

She could finally see Pony Ville!  
><em>"Wow..."<em> She said as she landed in front of the town.  
>She had never been to Pony Ville before.<p>

She walked around for a few minutes before spotting the stage.  
>She would be able to play the piano on an actual stage in front of people.<br>A pony walked by to see Melody Wing hugging the stage.  
><em>"Ahem...Can I help you?"<em> She asked.

Melody wing looked up at a light blue unicorn with a brown mane and immediately stepped away from the stage.  
><em>"Are you the leader of the Orchestra?"<em> She asked.  
><em>"Yes, I am. My name is Rhythm Beat." <em>She told her." And_ you?"_  
><em>"I'm Melody Wing."<em> She responded.

_"Have you practiced that song?"_ Rhythm Beat asked.  
>Melody Wing nodded." Yes<em>, I have."<br>"Good."_ Rhythm said with a smile." Then_ I suppose you will be ready for the orchestra tomorrow?"_  
><em>"Yep!"<em> Melody replied happily.  
><em>"Okay then I'll see you at the Orchestra."<em> She said as she walked over to a group of ponies.

Melody Wing looked at all the ponies that were practicing for the orchestra. There were violins, flutes, and trumpets, to name a few.  
>She gazed in awe at all the musical instruments for a moment and then walked onto the stage where a shiny black piano stood.<br>She walked over to it and began to play the song she learned.  
>She could play the piano for hours, but she couldn't right now.<p>

So, she played for a few minutes and then walked though the town once again.  
>She had to find somewhere to stay for the night.<br>She trotted around pony Ville for awhile when she ran into somepony.  
><em>"Oh, sorry."<em> Melody said.  
><em>"Melody Wing?"<em> They asked.  
><em>"Midnight Rain!"<em> Melody said with excitement as she looked at the shadow colored pony with a light blue mane that had a dark blue streak in it.  
><em>"Are you going to the Orchestra tomorrow?"<em> Midnight asked.  
><em>"Am I going to the Orchestra? ...I'm in the Orchestra!"<em> She exclaimed.  
><em>"Awesome! Which instrument are you playing?"<br>"The piano."_ Melody responded. "Hey_, how long are you staying in Pony Ville?"  
>"Me and my family are thinking about moving here. Are you going to stay in Pony Ville, or are you going back to Clouds Dale?"<em> She asked.  
><em>"I'm not sure...I might stay after the orchestra."<em> Melody responded.  
><em>"I hope you can stay. I'll be here for about a week."<em> Midnight said.  
><em>"I guess since you're staying, I'll stay too."<em> Melody responded.  
><em>"Yay!" She said." Oh, is it already three O'clock? I hope i'm not late..."<em> She said quietly. _"I have to go now...I'll see you at the orchestra tomorrow!"_ Midnight said as she waved to her friend and then trotted off.

Melody Wing happily skipped around for about a half hour when she ran into yet another pony.  
>Melody looked up to see that it was Rhythm beat.<br>_"Hi!"_ Melody greeted.  
><em>"Melody Wing...I'm sorry to say that the orchestra has been rescheduled..."<em> She said.

Melody Wings stared at her for a moment before collapsing to the ground in tears.  
><em>"W-why?" <em>She asked.  
><em>"One of the ponies got stuck in the tuba..."<em> Rhythm said.  
><em>"And T-that s-stopped the en-entire show?"<em> Melody asked in a shaky voice.  
><em>"That was the only tuba player in the entire show."<em> She told melody.  
><em>"Umm...May I ask how he got stuck in the tuba?"<em> Melody said as she looked up from her sad little spot.  
><em>"Err...It's a long story..."<em> She said.  
><em>"Did Treble Trouble tell him that there was a cookie at the bottom of the tuba?"<em> Melody asked.  
><em>"Exactly..."<em> Rhythm replied.  
><em>"That's like the third time this month..."<em> Melody said as she stood up.

"So when is the orchestra now?" She asked Rhythm.  
><em>"It will be three days from now." <em>She told Melody.  
>Melody once again collapsed onto the ground sobbing.<br>_"Don't worry...At least you have more time to practice that song..."_ The unicorn said to her.  
><em>"But you don't understand!"<em> She said as she looked up from the ground.  
>Melody had been waiting for this for what seemed like forever.<br>She had to learn three songs in two months, which she had done already.  
><em>"I'm sorry but that's what it's rescheduled until further notice."<em> Rhythm Beat told her and then began to walk off.  
>Melody stood up and walked over to a near tree, and sat down.<br>_"I guess I'll just have to wait..." _She said as she looked up at the tree she saw a little blue lizard with a purple marking on it's back, climbing along the bark of the tree.  
>She looked at it and smiled.<br>Most ponies didn't like lizards and snakes, but Melody Wing did.  
><em>"At least I have a buddy to wait with me."<em> She said as she let the small creature crawl onto her hoof.

_**Well...There you go! If you liked this chapter please review! :)  
>~LightOfLanayru<strong>_


	5. Chappy 5 TheTwilightWarrior

**Hiya! I'm siiick~~~ I get my kicks when I'm sick, and InkHeart's me, so InkHeart will be sick! Is that cruel? It helps plot. So here we go! Oh, and if you'd like to see a picture of InkHeart, just look up TheTwilightWarrior. DeviantArt. Com. Click on the gallery and you should see it… **

InkHeart let out a grumble, moaning lightly as she peeked one red-rimmed eye open. Light instantly flooded her vision as she rolled out of the bed and hit the floor, groaning even louder at the impact. She tried to sniff, attempting to get the clog out of her snout, only to fail and part her lips for air.

Last night's events had been kept at a minimum. WinterGust had been more than friendly, giving her as much of the steaming oats as she pleased. And InkHeart, despite being a rather slim pony, pleased a LOT of oats. Although, she'd caught the stare of utter disbelief that her hostess was giving her, probably shocked at the capacity of such a small unicorn.

Of course, now, the scratching in her throat made the thought of oats seem like a blank pit of utter uselessness. She tried to remember if she'd properly thanked WinterGust for being so generous, InkHeart had been extremely tired the night before... Thankfully, the manager was far more prepared than expected, and had already made up a bed. Thank dear Celestia for giving her such a knowing knew boss.

But now, now she just wanted to climb back in that bed and bury her head in the nice, warm comforter, despite it being early summer. But, she wasn't so easily defeated, this was most likely just some forest born cold, she was NOT about to let it ruin her first day. Ugh, but standing, it felt as though her head was air and her hooves were led. Making it quite challenging to make her way down the small set of stairs.

She toppled back and forth, trying to maintain her faltering balance. Her head ached and the fear the perhaps WinterGust wouldn't let her out of the house lingered in the back of her mind. In the short time she'd had to get to know the mare, she found that she was incredibly over-protective of friends, fussing about the fact that InkHeart had been in the forest for a day without food. Even though she wasn't sure they would be called 'friends'. InkHeart was a foal, coming for a small job and WinterGust was her boss, a mare with more experience then InkHeart could ever hope to have.

InkHeart let out a snort; WordPress would've sent her out on the field if she were in crutches and rambling about pink bunnies. Yet, here she feared that her new boss wouldn't let her out with a little cold? The difference in two ponies that held the same occupation was amazing...

She took the final step from the little flight, and peeked her head around the corner. WinterGust was busying herself with a jumble of important looking papers, all seeming to hold some relation to the news. She was levitating her way through the mess, horn glowing a light blue, huffing at what appeared to be a bill.

InkHeart cleared her throat, remembering the chiding she'd gotten last night for calling WinterGust 'Miss'. The unicorn had given her a good talking to about how she was too young to be called Miss, and those titles were used for Canterlot folk, not in Ponyville, and that InkHeart should stop talking like a scholar.

"WinterGust?" She croaked, trotting up to the mare and turning her head with a sneeze. One look and the foal knew she was in for another scolding, judging by the 'tsk tsk' WinterGust was doing, maybe even getting her work day slaughtered. What a pity, she'd been so looking forward to her first real job...

WinterGust sighed and let down the stack of papers she'd been levitating. "InkHeart... You know this means you're not going out, right?" There it was, slaughtered. But so soon? She'd at least been hoping for some kind of chance, InkHeart was persuasive... She probably could've gotten a different answer.

InkHeart nodded her head in mock respect. "Yes, Mis- WinterGust, although I do hope to convince you otherwise." She paused as the mare raised her eyebrow, silently prodding her to continue. "You see, if you allow me out, I'm sure I could find somepony who knows a remedy. And, WordPress would never let me miss a day... With him, if I could stand, I could work... I don't see why the principle would be different here." She finished, taking every ounce of her will-power not to go into a coughing fit.

WinterGust shook her head, closing her eyes as if she was thinking it over. Perhaps this was easier than expected, and WinterGust was even easier to convince! The mare let out a sigh. "You really want to do this, huh?" She asked, pursing her lips in something of a half smile. InkHeart gave a very eager nodded, although her eyelids still dropped slightly.

"Alright, Hun." She waved her hoof and continued her tsking. "WordPress warned me were a little bull-headed... He said you'd try to convince me a _something, _I guess this hits that target..." She sighed and turned around, opening a desk drawer and pulling out a small, black, hard-back book. For some very odd reason, InkHeart felt a light tug in her chest at the sight of the book.

WinterGust shoved it towards her. "You like it?" She smiled coyly at the nod she received. "Well, it's yours. You take notes in it for articles and write down quotes from ponies you interview." Her smile morphed back to honest as she levitated over a pencil. "Good luck, Hun. And don't go workin' yourself harder than you should be, if you know what I mean." She winked and turned back to her papers.

InkHeart's eyes lit up, although she quickly shook her head and formed a green bubble of magic around the pencil. "Thank you very much, WinterGust. Um, but you see... I prefer ink..." She sneezed into her hoof and sniffled lightly. "... If that's okay..."

WinterGust grinned and waved her hoof in the air. "Of course, of course!" Her smile broadened as she whirled around and held up a tightly sealed ink-well, turning back with a white feather quill. "Hehe, yes... _Ink_Heart. Not PencilHeart, sorry 'bout that, Hun." She said, looking over the foal's shoulder and frowning lightly. "Er, you didn't bring saddle-bags...?"

InkHeart couldn't hide the honest blush that painted her cheeks. "Um... I... Lost them, in the forest..." She gave a nervous grin. A little fib to cover her sanity never hurt, did it? WinterGust was better than that white lie, although she decided to let it slid, giggling to herself at all the possible ways the unicorn could've 'lost' it.

"That's fine, I know a place you can get some new ones." She curled up her lips and reached back into the drawer, pulling out a more up-to-date map and circling one of the many buildings. "Here you go; the unicorn there should be able to whip something up pretty fast." She winked. "You won't have to carry this stuff for long, honey."

InkHeart gave weak grin, quickly replacing it with a grimace and headed out the door. The first wave of sunlight made her want to turn tail back in and dive into the bed, although she held herself firm for the sake of pride. Everything felt like it was under water, this being the cause for the concerned, raised eyebrow stares that kept getting shot at her.

She stumbled a bit, trying, and failing, to avoid an on-coming red mare. To put it simply, they both ended up in a heap on the ground, InkHeart's supplies scattered around them. The red mare jumped up and shook her head, eyes closed and obviously frazzled. "Ho! Watch where you're going!" She snapped, rubbing her head and opening her eyes. She stared blankly, wiping the scowl off her face at the sniffling unicorn frantically trying to pick up her things and apologize as she went into a coughing fit.

The mare chuckled lightly, not from malice, simply because she was a bit amused with the sight. "Hehe, hey lassie, ya look like you could use some ginger spice." She said, grabbing InkHeart off the ground and dragging her off before she could protest. The unicorn had barely enough time to grab her ink and book before she was stolen from her path.

InkHeart stumbled along behind the still un-named mare, trying to find something sensible to say to her assailant. "Excuse me." She paused, chewing her lip and raising her eyebrow. She tried to plant her hooves and stop this sudden jerking, although the mare's strength was too much for a sick foal. "Who are you?" InkHeart asked, hoping to grab at least some information. She deserved that much, didn't she?

The red mare chuckled lightly. "Name's GingerSpice, lassie. From Applossa, I was a sailor pony back there, learned all kinds a cures at sea, mind you. We'll be makein' a quick stop in the forest to pick up some herbs from a friend a' mine. Heh, she's a good mare, you'll like her." She laughed and continued on, leaving InkHeart to clumsily follow behind, trying to process this information.

It was another half-hour filled with coughing, sneezing, and multiple "Bless you's" from GingerSpice before a small cottage appeared, nestled in the forest brush. InkHeart had to wonder who in their right mind would ever live in this forsaken place, with all its soggy glory.

Another hour passed in a blur of her fogged mind. GingerSpice had gotten her herbs from a yellow Pegasus with a bright magenta mane, and InkHeart had liked her, although she was deathly shy. Therefore, InkHeart had spent most of the 'visit' hiding behind the red mare escorting her. Now, our reporter found herself sitting at a table in "Ginger's" (As she insisted she be called) house, a hot bowl of something orange in front of her.

She sniffed, surprised at the spicy aroma that assaulted her snout, instantly clearing it. Ginger got a smirk at the bewilderment painted on her guest face."W-What is this?" She stuttered, carefully reaching for a bright silver spoon, placidly set by a porcelain bowl.

GingerSpice laughed and waved a hoof. "Take a bite. Just one's all ya gonna need, promise." She puffed out her chest and adopted a serious expression, placing a hoof over her heart. She wiped away her stance, bouncing eagerly as the unicorn levitated the spoon, filled it with broth and took a sip.

InkHeart's eyes widened to match the circumference of the bowl; she could've sworn smoke was coming out of her nose as she dashed around the house searching for water. Her face burned red and Ginger rolled on the floor laughing, obviously pleased with herself. The writer finally found the glass of blessed water- sitting right next to her plate. Oh, she would have been angry with herself if it wasn't for the relief slithering down her throat.

After several seconds of greedy guzzles, she collapsed on the floor in a smoldering heap, gasping and heaving for breath. "Y-You… What _WAS _that?" She demanded, pushing off the ground and shaking herself off, staring at the soup like it was a demon.

GingerSpice continued her amused chuckles. "That… Is GingerSpice." She grinned and ran up to the unicorn, who shrank back at the very presence of the over active pony. "Worked awful-ly good, wouldn't ya agree?" She asked, taking a step back from the writer.

InkHeart swallowed, testing the theory. Nothing. No sting, no burn, nothing what-so-ever. Next she tried her sense of smell, Ginger grinning all the while. A very sharp smell hit her, something she assumed only GingerSpice could conjuror. The no longer sniffling unicorn smiled lightly. "Fantastic." She stated, shaking the red mare's hoof.

Ginger held her head high and proud. "I knew it." She said, trying to hide the much-too-large grin continuing to spread across her face. Only then did InkHeart catch a glimpse of the mare's cutie-mark: A spice shaker, backed by a bright blue lightning bolt.

She could only imagine what sort of event caused that sort of mark.

**Well, I've beaten writers block! ****I think. ****Umm… Can you tell that I lost it at the end? I'm sorry… Please review, and maybe a little critique? I'm struggling with my dialogue, so help is appreciated. Thanks for reading!**

**~TheTwilightWarrior**


	6. Chapter 6 TheTwilightWarrior

**Hiya! Twilight here! Eeyup, it's me again. LightOfLanayru is running late, so I'll be writing until she decides to jump back in. Oh! And pardon my sawdust; I'm going through character revisions. **

InkHeart swung open the door to the newspaper 'headquarters', laughing her head off at something GingerSpice said. Light blue WinterGust pulled herself from an overly cluttered desk and prepared herself for the puddles that would be stopping on her perfect floor. Ah, yes. Rain was the unicorn's one natural enemy. With hooves tracking water _everywhere_, and mud patches only added to the cursed mess.

Although, today was different. She would go easy on the two mares today, mostly because this was a sensitive day. Something WinterGust had learned after a week of the teenage mare living in her house was that she was extremely sensitive about new people. Even though she'd taken quite a friendship with GingerSpice, she still had her issues.

That was the call for when the blond pony quietly shooed GingerSpice out the door, earning a very confused look from a certain young writer. Hardly giving the red Earth-Pony enough time to shout a quick goodbye and the old oak door slammed shut in her face.

InkHeart was left with a certain lost puppy look, taking the nod to the couch from WinterGust as a warning sign and getting a frightened tilt in her eyebrow. She warily trotted over and plopped herself on the cushioned surface, carefully watching WinterGust mirror her.

Daintily seating herself, the light-blue mare took in a breath and looked her paralyzed-with-fear companion in the eye. "InkHeart-" She started, only to be cut off when a light green hoof raised up and silenced her.

"I'm going back to Canterlot, correct?" She let out a sigh and got up from the couch. WinterGust opened her mouth as the unicorn slowly trotted away, gaping for words that really wouldn't come. "It was expected... I honestly didn't think WordPress would allow me all this time... Ah well, I'll go pack." She paused, nearly getting to the staircase. She slowly turned back and looked at the blond mare gaping on the couch. "WinterGust... Thank you. You know I'm horrid with spoken words, so I will send you a letter... But, thank you."

A ghost of a smile crossed the blue mares face as she shook her head. "InkHeart, honey, you're not leaving." She said, quite effectively catching the writer in her tracks. WinterGust patted the seat next to her and smiled a bit, watching the green unicorn trot back over and promptly sit down. "I don't understand..." Her brow slowly knit together as she lightly shook her head, letting her hair come farther over her eye.

WinterGust chuckled at the clueless face she was getting. "You're not leaving. Quite the opposite, actually." Her face fell as she bit her lip and looked away, trying to figure an easy way to put this. "A few other branches are following in WordPress's hoovesteps, and... sending some other ponies to stay here." She shut her eyes and recoiled, half expecting the unicorn to explode.

But then, something unexpected happened. "Is... That all?" InkHeart simply shrugged and furrowed her brow farther at the jaw drop of her boss. The blond unicorn clipped her mouth shut and blinked, trying to figure out how she's misjudged the situation and feeling a bit... Stupid.

The brunette unicorn paused and chewed her lip at the dumbstruck nod she received. "Well... Are you familiar with their positions?" She asked, her eyebrows tilting to a shy, questionable stance.

WinterGust took in a breath and puffed it back out. "Yes, yes I do." She paused and blinked again, lightly shaking her head and refocusing on the green unicorn. "A colt from Stalliongrad named SnapShot will be manning photography. Er... He'll be following you around, sweetie, since you're the field writer." She paused as the color drained from the brunette mare's face. "Um, Hun... Is something wrong?"

The unicorn looked near fainted as she stuttered out: "C-C-Colt? F-Following me... A-Around?" WinterGust had to really fight the urge to laugh her head off. She let out a sigh and shook her head, letting a smile seep through. "We'll talk about that after this subject."

She straightened. "A mare named SeaFoam from Manehatten will do interviews, another colt will handle printing-His name's PaperWhite- And another mare from Canterlot named WellWisher will do an advice column." She took in a very large breath and looked hard at the confused green unicorn.

It looked as though her mind hadn't left the colt issue, and seeing as WinterGust herself was single, she doubted her ability to assist the young mare. "Hun, I can't help you with _this _issue... But I know a unicorn you could... If you'd like, I could tell you where to find her..." She trailed off when the green mare's normally dropping ears perked up.

"I'd... Like to know where to locate this mare..." She paused and blushed a bit. "The entire idea of a colt following me around is pretty bone-shattering..." She looked off to the side and huffed before staring at a laughing WinterGust.

Giggles ceasing, the light blue mare picked herself up off the floor and sighed. "All right... Well, she's got a _lot _of experience with stallions... Although, you being from Canterlot you'll have to get by that road block..." She pursued her lips and thought for a moment, considering if it was a good idea to send a confused, socially awkward teenage unicorn to a saucy, diva, somewhat generous unicorn. What could go wrong? "Well... Her name is Rarity..."

XXX

InkHeart stood at the doorstep of a rather primed boutique, shuffling her feet as she tried to recall the improper adjective that most ponies used to describe this sort of place. What was it...? Ah, yes. Froo-froo. A very _froo-froo _place indeed. Ugh... Why would WinterGust send her here? Perhaps she could get through this colt issue by herself...

Oh, who was she kidding? She hadn't spoken a word to a colt in three years, having one follow her everywhere would be deadly. So, she warily raised a hoof to the door and gave three short knocks. She took in a long breath and puffed it out, trying to resist the urge to run away.

"Come in!" An implacable accent of an adult mare came crashing through all her escape plans and she slowly opened the door. A white unicorn with an extremely well-kept purple, curled mane was leaned over a piece of fabric, horn glowing as she carefully put in a stitch. "May I help you?" She didn't even turn around...

InkHeart paused, swallowed hard and drew half circles in the ground with her hoof. "Um, Miss Rarity?" The unicorns white ears perked up at the sound of the scared little mare. She whirled around and nearly fainted at the green unicorn's unkempt, rather scrappy mane covering over one eye.

"Oh! Well, you're a new face..." She paused and bit her lip, trying not to wonder when the last time this mare had brushed her mane. "Yes, that's me... But it's just Rarity, darling." The mare nodded and continued shuffling hr feet. Rarity got a sympathetic smile at the shy unicorn and curved up her brow. "Well, seeing as you know my name, may I ask what yours is?"

InkHeart swallowed hard and gave a shaky nod. "InkHeart. From Canterlot." She paused when the white unicorn's eyes widened, but chose to continue anyway. "WinterGust sent me because, well, she said you had decent experience with stallions... And..." The purple maned mare held up a hoof to silence her.

Rarity sighed. "Say no more, dear. Just tell why you need my expertise." She directed the conversation over to a lacy couch and InkHeart found herself beginning to hold some disdain for the seating. The green unicorn hauled herself onto the cushion and took in a breath.

"Well, I write for the paper here... And, Miss WinterGust informed me today that we'd be getting some new members- You see, I used to write for the Canterlot division, although my boss sent me here. Anyway, WinterGust told me there'd be a colt coming to do photography, and he'd be following me around everywhere..." She paused and blushed. "I... Haven't spoken to a colt in three years... I never really left my house except for work..."

Rarity had to contain her laughter. The poor mare was socially clueless, never brushed her mane and never came out of her home. Oh, Celestia help her... "Darling, colts are a very simple matter, and we will discuss this... But first, you have to tell me why you hide such perfect complexion under that... Unkempt mane." She paused as she looked over the blue streaked brown mane of the unicorn.

InkHeart blushed and tried to think of a suiting answer. She hadn't brushed her mane since she'd started writing... It just took up so much time... Come to think of it, InkHeart could recall a writer-pony with a well kept mane. Only WinterGust, although she always had hers up in a bun... "Ah, well... It's hard to juggle tasks... And I spend most of my time writing until WinterGust has recently begun forcing me to sleep..."

Rarity face-hooved. "Darling... This may take awhile... "

**Please wish InkHeart luck. She's going to need it. Anyway, if you'd like to see more of the characters, I'll be posting more of them on deviant-art. In fact... I think I have WinterGust up there... Meh. Thanks for reading and pwease review!**

**~TheTwilightWarrior**


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